It’s a little wild how quickly things can change in the NBA.
Well, we all know what happened next.
Life is funny sometimes.
I will say this about the Nets though, they play what I would call “acceptable tanking”.
They play hard as shit.
They aren’t punting games, they are playing to win.
Especially against a team that played hard defensively.
Baylor Scheierman saved the Boston Celtics in this win.
I’m not sure I’ve completely processed what we watched in those 16 minutes.
Too good for the G-League where he was lighting it up, butnot quiteready for the NBA.
He finally saw the ball go in.
Before that game, Baylor had never made more than 2 FGM in any appearance as a Celtic.
His career high was 5 points.
Baylor is 10-17 from deep (58.8%).
He’s shooting 61.9% from the floor (13-21).
We finally are seeing exactly what the brain of Brad Stevens saw back when he was drafted 30th.
Now, I urge you, let’s keep perspective.
That is all true.
It’s also true that I do not give a single fuck.
To me, that’s all last night was.
A step in the right direction.
It at least told me he belongs, and not just because he was dominating against a tanking team.
What stood out right away to me was how comfortable Baylor looked playing with the regular rotation guys.
What makes Baylor intriguing isn’t just the shooting, but his overall feel.
It’s so preposterous but that’s also why it rules.
Can Baylor be that guy?
- Is it a stretch to suggest we watched Kristaps Porzingis have the best game of his season?
When he’s aggressive like that and is able to use his size advantage, he’s unstoppable.
When the Celts needed big time buckets in high pressure situations, KP delivered.
When it came time to own the glass down the stretch, KP was there.
They are going to send help as soon as KP starts his catch.
KP is used to this shit.
Nobody comes back after missing huge chunks of time and looks like they’ve never left more than KP.
In fact, it was their best quarter!
Talk about a prayer.
They get allergic to stops once we enter the final 12 minutes, but not last night.
Holding BKN to 36/27% with 4 TOs was good enough for me.
To pull that quarter off with no Tatum and no Brown means something to me dammit.
The Bad
- Thank heavens for KP/Baylor because everyone else?
Not all that great, especially shooting the basketball.
DWhite’s shot creation was pretty tough, same with Jrue.
A 3 game set of MIA/BKN/BKN saw the Celts only average 107 points a game on 46/35% shooting.
For comparison, they average 116 points a game on the season.
The year before last he was 80% too, so it’s not like that was a fluke.
Granted I may be the only person on the planet who has noticed this, but it’s bizarre.
Especially since I didn’t think Torrey Craig looked all that great.
Isn’t that what this stretch is all about?
The Ugly
- I know I mention it every blog, but they leave me no choice.
I will never, ever, ever understand how this team is so horrific at throwing entry passes.
The fact that the major culprits are the two starting guards makes it even more infuriating.
The fact that this has been an issue all season has my brain in a complete pretzel.
Just finish healthy and be ready to defend your title.
